MIAMI -- They've waited a long, long time for this in these parts, dating back to the days of a hard-nosed runner named Csonka who once ran over defensive backs like he was a father shedding kids in a backyard game.
Power football and Miami haven't gone too well since then. The Dolphins have been as soft as their team colors.
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| Ricky Williams is still enigmatic, but has found happiness in Miami. (AP) |
Eat your heart out, Dan Marino.
Williams became the first Miami running back to rush for 100 yards in three consecutive games Sunday when he gained 151 on 24 carries in the Dolphins' impressive 30-3 victory over the New York Jets. Williams' 53-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, the longest run of his pro career, sealed the victory and set off a jubilant celebration in the Pro Player Stadium crowd of 73,426.
What's not to celebrate?
Those fans finally have a featured back they can count on in the fourth quarter, and they also ended the dreaded Jets jinx. The Dolphins had lost eight consecutive games to them coming into the game, but they proved Sunday that the idea the Jets were in their heads was just a bunch of talk.
Even a jinx couldn't bail out the Jets on this day.
Everything about them stunk worse than a New York alley on a hot summer day. Quarterback Vinny Testaverde was terrible, throwing two key interceptions deep in his own end to set up 10 Miami points. The play-calling by Paul Hackett was predictable and odd, and the defense wore down in the searing Miami sun.
At 1-2, the Jets are now two games behind the Dolphins and the Patriots, both with 3-0 records, in the AFC East.
"We're going to have to stick together, because everybody outside the locker room is probably going to take shots at us and tell us how bad we are," said Testaverde. "They will probably have all the answers for us."
Not all, but here's one: Turning the ball over and keeping your defense on the field is not a way to win games. The Jets did both Sunday with four giveaways to none for the Dolphins.
Even when Miami was doing things to make it seem like the jinx was a reality -- such as always-reliable Olindo Mare missing a 31-yard field goal -- the Jets never really threatened.
That enabled the Dolphins to turn to Williams, with a little play-action pass sprinkled on top. Quarterback Jay Fiedler threw for just 185 yards but completed key passes at key times, starting with a 10-yard scoring toss to tight end Randy McMichael in the first half to help Miami to a 13-0 lead.
The Jets cut it to 13-3, but Miami scored 17 fourth-quarter points to blow the game open. That was a big turnaround -- the Jets had outscored Miami by 45 in the fourth quarter of the past three meetings between the teams.
In those games, they didn't have a back to take control. When the Dolphins traded draft picks to the Saints for Williams last spring -- for a first-rounder and a conditional pick (now on its way to being in the first round) -- they had visions of days like this. With new offensive coordinator Norv Turner, a coach who features the running back, the thinking was Williams could put up these types of numbers.
Somewhere in the back of their minds, though, they had to wonder if they had the offensive line to do it. With guard Mark Dixon now playing left tackle and journeyman Jamie Nails at left guard (he's playing his butt off), the Dolphins had to show they could mesh into a power line.
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| Ricky Williams and Miami's unheralded line are feeding off each other. (AP) |
"Coach (Dave) Wannstedt had told me earlier to be more patient, so I just waited a little longer," Williams said.
Patience and running back talk in Miami? Haven't the fans there been patient enough?
Poor Marino never had the luxury of having a back of Williams' caliber. That always forced the game onto his arm. It was a wing and a prayer.
That prayer has been answered.
Williams might not do things the conventional way off the field, his battle with anxiety well-documented. He shies away from the spotlight, preferring the anonymity of just being an ordinary guy.
Hey, Ricky. You can forget about that now. He's the king of South Florida, taking that title from Marino and his statue outside the stadium for now. Fans are coming to games in wigs of dreadlocks, showing their support. Williams can't go anywhere without a few heads turning.
Williams told a story Sunday about how different it is for him now from when he first arrived. He said he was driving his car the other day when a guy delivering flowers did a double-take, recognized him and then asked if he wanted free flowers
At a restaurant the other night, Williams had a 20-minute wait. That didn't last. He was recognized, sat down immediately and even had his dinner tab picked up.
"I go places, and people are happy to see me," said Williams.
No kidding. He is everything that they've wanted for years. The oldsters in these parts remember Csonka running over people, and the younger fans have spent two decades listening to the lore of the running game. They hear how Miami actually used to win games, and Super Bowls, throwing fewer than 15 passes.
That was unheard of with Marino. Williams has changed all that. And his teammates love him for it.
"When you have a quality running back like that it makes you want to block even better," said right tackle Todd Wade. "You feel a little guilty if you don't make a block."
The Dolphins have had a back go over 100 yards in three consecutive games, but it was two different runners. It happened in 1972, when Mercury Morris sandwiched two 100-yard games around one by Csonka.
That's 30 years ago, which is longer than Williams is old. That 1972 team also was the last one in the NFL to go unbeaten. This one has three down and 13 to go.
"We are not going undefeated," said linebacker Zach Thomas. "I can guarantee you that. We just have to continue to play good football and things will work out. We're not getting fitted for rings just yet."
Ending the jinx is a good step. Finding a running game is even better.
"Give them credit, they beat me eight straight," said Thomas. "Now Ricky Williams is 1-0 against them."
If he keeps it up, he's going to be 1-0 against a lot of teams. After three games, Williams has 394 yards, and what's even more impressive, he's averaging 5.8 per rush. His career per-carry average is 3.8.
Williams has insisted he's a different player in Miami. He likes it here, unlike his three years in New Orleans. The results are proof that happiness can translate into success on the field.
The detractors will say he has done it against three average to below-average defenses. They'll say that two of the three games came in the Miami heat, wilting the opponent.
Forget that. The 53-yard run, the longest play of any kind in Williams' pro career, is proof of how different a player he now is.
"I just want to win," Williams said. "That's it. It's fun to win, but I understand that tomorrow we have to get back out there. There's not much time to celebrate."
Don't tell that to the Miami fans. They've waited two decades to see a runner barrel over a defense and control the clock.
Don't celebrate? Not a chance.
